Racing Beat Mazda PROTEGE Spring Set

DESCRIPTION

The Racing Beat suspension spring we offer are compatible for use the following Protege applications:

1999-2000 Protege Sedan ES 1.8 (Ride height drop - front .875-inch, rear .875-inch)

2001 Protege Sedan LX 2.0, ES 2.0 (excluding MP3) (Ride height drop - front .875-inch, rear .875-inch)

2002-03 Protege Sedan/Protege5 - All Models (excluding MazdaSpeed Protege) (Ride height drop - front .75-inch, rear .875-inch)

Racing Beat offers premium suspension springs for the Protege models listed above. Originally designed by Racing Beat for use on the Protege MP3, these springs are designed to lower the Protege and offer improved handling and styling. These springs have a rate increase of approximately 21% over the stock springs. Finished with a brilliant Racing Beat Red powder-coat paint, these springs will offer the Protege enthusiast years of handling performance. When reducing the ride height of a vehicle through the use of lowering springs, it is normally recommended that you "trim" the OEM bump stops to accommodate the resulting reduction in suspension travel. Trimming or cutting is an effective method to shorten the length of the bump stops for the Protege , but we have found an even more effective alternative - we offer the bump stops that Mazda designed for use on "lowered" Protege MP3/Mazdaspeed application. These stops are a direct replacement for the factory units and are offered at a very reasonable price. See item 74012 for more information regarding the Protege bump stops.

Jim Mederer, Racing Beat's co-founder and chief engineer, offers the following insight to Racing Beat's philosophy on suspension spring development: "Springs are very much a mater of opinion, we adjust ride height and spring rate based more than any other thing on our personal opinion. We won't "slam", or excessively lower a car strictly for appearance sake. First the car will hit the bump rubbers far too often and that makes the car unpredictable in its handling, also it offers a jarring ride and it is very harsh on suspension components causing them to potentially fail. We therefore make relatively small changes in ride height, usually less than 1". We adjust that based in part on what we perceive the best way of adjusting for good handling. Our primary goal in lowering the car is handling, and from our point a view, improved appearance is a side benefit. We don't lower the car for appearance, and then take what comes in handling. We are very cautious to not excessively lower the car such that it will cause perceived problems either in safety or unreasonable changes in ride comfort."

Note: All lowering figures are approximate. Actual lowering height may vary slightly from vehicle to vehicle and can be affected by differing OEM equipment packages and the installation of optional equipment. Also, pressure variation in older shocks will result in more lowering.